Midland Park: Mother Nature’s Magic

Suburban Suckers and City Ickers

With an abundance of wildlife in Midland Park, it’s only natural that some critters and crawlies find their way indoors, entering your home, ravaging your land, or infiltrating your business.

Rats are among the most common infestations; they’re exceptional climbers and able to enter through gaps as small as a quarter. Surprisingly, they’re gifted swimmers as well, and some can tread water for three days. This is partly why they thrive in the sewer system (it being dark, dank, and deserted, of course, helps as well), making infestations in commercial districts more common than in residences.

Mice can also swim, although they use it as a survival skill rather than a favored activity. They differ from rats in where they prosper; while rats readily adapt to big-city life, mice prefer the suburbs. You can find mice in urban areas, but the outskirts of town are appealing due to nesting areas (mice appreciate your mess of a storage closet), food sources (garbage bins, pantries, pet bowls), and quiet (unlike rats, who tolerate the hustle and bustle). Mice also flock to the suburbs because of rats; the average rat is larger and more aggressive than the typical mouse and can outcompete it for food and shelter. In places with fewer rats, there’s a greater chance for mice to thrive.

Mosquitoes seem partial to the ‘burbs, too. They can (and do) live in major cities; they’re just more commonly found in areas with standing water, making the suburbs (with front-lawn kiddie pools, backyard birdbaths, and stream-filled walking paths) more attractive. They require standing water to reproduce, but they don’t need a pond; even a soda cap full of water can lure them. They favor vegetation as their afternoon napping spot, something not often found in metropolises.

Other pests that are more common in Midland Park residential areas include ants (fewer people means fewer feet to squash them), termites (colonies are drawn to the wood in suburban homes), and wasps (lured to gardens, trees, and eaves). Pests that prefer city life include cockroaches (they thrive in close-knit quarters like apartments), bedbugs (they spread easily in hotels and motels), and flies (they’re often found near restaurants as they’re drawn to food waste and garbage).

Of course, pests that prefer the quiet life still end up on busy urban streets (and vice versa); a cockroach infestation in a secluded farmhouse isn’t rare, nor is a wasp’s nest at the Waldorf. That’s where we come in: Whether you’re dealing with a common infestation or an out-of-the-box ordeal, we can help.